Question Number: 24619

Law 11 - Offside 2/26/2011

RE: select Under 12

jerry slota of clinton twp, michigan usa asks...

Offense is taking a corner kick,they kick it up field,when the def pulls up it leaves 2 offensive players offsides,but the offense shoots and the ball gos over the heads of the 2 offside players. should this goal stand or be called offsides?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Jerry
The only question the referee and assistant has to consider in the situation you desribe is whether the players in an offside position interfered with an opponent's ability to play the ball by clearly obstructing the opponent's line of vision.
It is not an offence to be in an offside position and if the goalkeeper/opponent had sight of the shot from the kick to when it passed him then there is no offence here.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

Hi Jerry. The first line in Law 11 OFFSIDE is: It is not an offence in itself to be in an offside position. That's very important because it tells us that in order for an offside offence to occur, the player(s) in an offside position must DO something. In your example they were not interfering with play or gained an advantage by their offside position (they never touched the ball) so the only possibility would be they interfered with an opponent. Unless they blocked the line of sight of the goalkeeper or somehow prevented an opponent from getting to the ball, this should be a good goal.